Technical Field
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and an information processing method, and more particularly to a technique for synchronizing setting values between an information processing apparatus and a setting value management server connected via a network.
Description of the Related Art
In recent years, a technique has become available that stores master data regarding the setting values of an information processing apparatus such as a multifunction peripheral in another information processing apparatus, such as a setting value management server, connected via a network so as to perform unified management. The values are synchronized between the multifunction peripheral and the setting value management server, and if a change is made to the values of the master data stored in the setting value management server, the changed value is notified to the multifunction peripheral, and the values of the setting values stored in the multifunction peripheral are also changed. Likewise, if a change is made to the setting values stored in the multifunction peripheral, the setting values of the master data stored in the setting value management server are also changed. In addition, there are setting values that are synchronized between a plurality of multifunction peripherals, and if the value of a setting value is changed, the change is made to the value of the setting value in the master data stored in the server and all of the synchronized multifunction peripherals with which synchronization is performed. This easily enables unified management of a plurality of, for example, several hundreds to several thousands of devices. Accordingly, an administrator managing a group of multifunction peripherals can instantly change the settings of all multifunction peripherals managed by the administrator by simply operating the master data stored in the server.
In many conventional, so-called distribution-type systems that distribute settings data to multifunction peripherals so as to reflect the settings data in the multifunction peripherals, the data distribution and reflection is performed by performing control so as to prevent a user operation and a job input operation of inputting a copy job or a print job from being performed on the multifunction peripherals to which the data is to be distributed. This, however, is not efficient because it causes down time during which the multifunction peripherals cannot be used. In the data synchronization-type system described in the above paragraph, data is synchronized without imposing any limitations on user processing such as user operations and job input operations. This prevents the occurrence of down time, but causes another problem in that a setting change is synchronized and thus may affect the user processing performed by users who are using the multifunction peripherals. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2010-161467 discloses a distribution-type system in which when a setting change made in the server is distributed to the multifunction peripherals, a screen is displayed so that the users can view and recognize the setting change.
With the distribution-type system, user operations are limited during distribution of settings data, and the distributed setting result is displayed with the limitation being maintained. However, in the case of the synchronization-type setting change function that can work without imposing any limitations on the use of multifunction peripherals by the users, simply displaying a setting change is insufficient. For example, the setting change may not be applied to multifunction peripherals currently logged in by their users. In this case, the server may determine that the setting change has been applied to the multifunction peripherals despite the fact that the setting change is not actually applied to the multifunction peripherals.
Embodiments given below will describe a configuration for, when a setting change is made to devices that are managed, enabling the setting change to be made at a time to all of the devices even if there is a device(s) in use.